When I first prepared to watch Normal People, I had a lot of expectations. I’ve read the book many times; my copy is tattered and covered in notes to prove it. And while sartorially, most of the series played out the exact way on-screen as it did in my head, I did not expect to be as enticed by one detail: Connell’s chain.
I wasn’t alone in feeling that way. The thirst surrounding the silver chain that Paul Mescal’s character wears throughout the series was so strong that five days after Normal People premiered, it got its own Instagram account @connellschain, which has since garnered over 175,000 followers. A year after the show's release, and the hype around Connell's chain has died down, leaving me on the lookout for another fashion chain to thirst over. This week, I found one when TV’s newest leading man, Bridgerton’s Regé-Jean Page, wore a silver necklace of his own.
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On Thursday, Page, who plays the impossibly sexy Duke of Hastings on the Regency-era Netflix series, was in Manhattan ahead of his February 20 SNL appearance. Photos showed him wearing an oatmeal-coloured cardigan, black jeans, and a mask that benefits the ACLU. Being the chain-obsessed tracker that I am, I zeroed in on the barely noticeable silver piece immediately. The chain was perfectly understated — the length landing just right.
Upon further investigation, I discovered that isn’t even the first time that Page has worn a chain. A December photoshoot in InStyle saw the actor wearing a larger, chunkier version of the necklace. A simpler style made an appearance when Page was a guest on The Graham Norton Show earlier this month.
This also isn't the first time that Page made us feel a certain way about something so innocuous. After the scene of the Duke licking a silver spoon seductively on Bridgerton went viral, an Instagram account dedicated to it, @thedukesspooon, launched. Just over a month after its first post, the account has more than 23,000 followers. “Normal People gave us Connell’s chain necklace, then Bridgerton said hold my beer, and gave us the Duke and that silver spoon,” wrote Simone Law on Twitter, describing my feelings exactly.
As we wait for more Page appearances in a chain, will someone just make @pageschain already? And petition to have the Duke wear one in the next season of Bridgerton, too.
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